Reunion of the Dragons
by LavenderScyth
Summary: Genji and Hanzo try to patch things between them. Genji is trying, anyway.
1. An Invitation

"Crisp air in the night.

Its snowing on Mt Fuji.

Hanzo sits alone."

I nodded to myself. Poetry was never my strong suit, but it looked like something out of a period drama. It was my brother, getting lost in sake. He was shouting out in slurred metaphores about honor. There wasn't anyone else in the room with him. It had been like this for the past couple of days. Though I could understand why. It had been the first time we met in years. And the way we met, the fight before, the dragons, the look in his eyes when he realized I was alive...

I was expecting some kind of reaction, but not this. The once proud and noble head of the Shimada Clan, now a mess. I had been sticking around to make sure Hanzo didn't inform the rest of the clan about the fact that I've survived all these years. Instead, all Hanzo had done was lock himself up in his home and go through all the drink in the house. It was about time for this to stop.

But how? I doubt that a friendly chat would end well. There is a good mediator I know though. Hopefully he wouldn't mind. I opened up my comms.

"Master, I need your help with someone."

"Genji, what's the problem?" Zenyatta mused.

I took a sigh. "It's Hanzo. He's taken our meeting in the worst possible way."

"Are you still sitting on that roof?"

I sat still for a moment, just as the wind picked up a bit and whistled through the groves of my mask. The universe always liked these jokes.

"I worry about him. I can't just leave him. At this rate he'll drink himself to death." At times I wish I could.

"I know just what to do. In the morning we will try to fix things. But remember how long it took you to get used to things. And I can only guess there's the pressures of your clan on his back."

Hanzo was snoring now, loudly. He couldn't do anymore damage to himself.

"They have been struggling for some time now. I wish I could help him through this. But he's already shown his displeasure at the idea. He doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Come back and rest. You surely need to recharge soon. In the morning, things will get better."

"Yes Master," I lowered my voice as I switched off the comms. Overwatch had arranged sleeping quarters for us while on our trip. It was a small appartment not terribly far from my brother's residence. I stuck to the shadows, keeping out of sight from civilians. There would be much to question if people saw me. My own brother could barely handle it. That is the reason I continue on with Overwatch. For Harmony.

Soon I was back at the appartment. I had climbed the terrace to climb to the 7th story window. The lights were off in the main area, except for the soft glow comming off of Zenyatta sitting cross legged in a chair. Hopping through the window I heard a small click and reflexivly drew my blade.

"You doin' all that sneakn' 'round sure makes me nervous," McCree graveled out. He was laying on the couch, with his hat half over his face. Since Genji and Zenyatta could not directly interact with people, Overwatch had assigned McCree as a point man.

"You know it could not be helped." I mused and resheathed my blade.

He just sighed and rehostered his gun. It was well into the night. Probably tired. I could feel my batteries starting to get low. Another couple hours and I would be on critical power. Staying out too late and away from power sources were not good at all. Another incident like last time was not favorable. Thankfully, Mercy had assumed that I would at times be in places with places with lower power sources than Overwatch Labrotories. I opened up my side and pulled out a long power cord that was compressed beneath my exterior armor. There was a setting on the side of the head for how much voltage, which was already set to a standard setting, and exchangable prongs to adapt to different countries outlets. I plugged myself into the wall near the TV and leaned into the corner. They were always more comfortable than a flat wall. Less of a chance to fall over in sleep, too. Not as good as when the outet is neer a bed. But the cyborg life wasn't always glamourus. And soon, I was asleep and in low power mode.

I slowly opened my eyes. My body was warming up its systems when it detected my main battery was full. It was about midday. I had slept through most of the recharging, but was still in low power mode untill fully charged. Mercy made sure this was a condition soon after I was given this body and wasn't used to it. At first, this resulted in deep conteplation and hate over my body, then grew into immense boredom during the long hours hooked into a wall. But soon after meeting Zenyatta, it had turned into an excuse to meditate for long spans of time. It was now almost enjoyable to feel the steady charge gather within me. It was the closest feeling to a full stomach I had over these past years.

I noticed that McCree was gone and Zenyatta appeared unmoved since last night. I've seen him in a medditative state for almost a week. Not wanting to disturb him, I unplugged myself gently. And the cord retracted back into its small compartment. I closed myself up and sat on the sofa where McCree was just last night. I quickly did a software diagnostic check. All systems were good. This I certianly used to hate. It made me feel incrediblly inhuman. Though it had evolved into my routine. Everything was good, and I had some free time. Zenyatta never explained what he was going to do to help the situation, but he was still meditating. So I decided to surf the web. This was I system I suggested recently for the downtime between fights. I was starting to get behind on some of 's videos. I was hoping to learn some of her tricks for the next time we will be able to play agaisnt each other. It was a strong rivalry between us.

And after a while, the door to the small apartent opened up. Without looking up from my video, I waved at McCree.

"Mornin' to ya too." Then he stepped foreward a bit and I noticed someone behind him. And then I closed my browser in surprise. Behind McCree was Hanzo. My brother noticed me as well, and there was an akward silence that hung in the room.

"It is nice to meet you, Shimamura Hanzo. I am your brother's teacher. My name is Zenyatta Tekartha." I really shoudln't have expected anything different. Master was always about open communication. But it was incredibly straight foreward, the way he set it up. And I suddenly felt unsure.

Hanzo just glared at me with sour eyes. I kept my head towards him, but my eyes darted around the room. There was no way I would show any fear, but that didn't mean I couldn't hide behind my mask as I always did.

McCree cut the silence. "I'mma head out and track down some grub." And he was gone. The man could be swift when he wanted to be. The door clicked behind him and it was the three of us.

"Please, sit down, we have much to discus," Zenyatta gestured towards the couch where I was sitting. Hanzo slowly moved across the room and situated himself instead in a chair close to the couch. Zenyatta floated around to a position where he could speek to both of us face to face.

"We will get the buisness out of the way first. We were hoping you could join us in Overwatch." Zenyatta tilted his head, waiting for an anwser.

Hanzo glared at me, then gazed at the door as if contemplating leaving. "Why would I do such a thing?"

Zenyatta straightened his gaze at Hanzo. "While everyone has their own reasons for joining, I believe you must find your own. A better formated question is, why would you not? From our intel, you have been a bit of a drifter. Some time ago, you seperated yourself from the Shimada Clan andhave been on the run from them since."

"Times,they sure have changed," I stoped myself short, "brother."

There was a visible tense in his stance when I said that word.

"And I also said that you are not my brother." Poison was striking with his words. "I killed my brother."

It hurt me just as much now as when he first said those words. I learned long ago that hatred would not help me. I had let go of the anger I had towards my brother, and the only thing that was left in the void was the desire to reconnect with him. Even as a young child, I was proud to be my brother's simbling. I would get into fights with the other kids as a child whenever somebody disrespected Hanzo. And as he chose to train and study to become clan leader over playing with the other children, this was quite frequent. They simply thought he was sick all the time and asumed I was lying when I spoke of my brother's acomplishment in archery.

"Hanzo," Zenyatta started, "Why do you keep trying to tell yourself this?"

"Because I watched him die!" Hanzo's voice rang out. Then he grew quiet as he looked down at his legs. "I watched him die as my dragons were let lose with all my fury."

I closed my eyes and quietly breathed to myself. The memories came, and I stuck to Mercy's advice. I let the thoughts come and go, not holding onto them. Years had taught me how to go through them when they hit me. After a few minutes, I realized nobody spoke after what Hanzo had said. They were both staring at me, Zenyatta with his head tilted and my brother with a look of worried confusion. I relaxed my posture to show I was alright.

"You must have held back then," Zenyatta slowly mused, his gaze locked on me. "If Genji is before us, alive." He stressed the last word in reassurance.

It was quiet. I had actually never thought of that. Hanzo's dragons were emensely powerfull. It was surprising that I had survived. Did he really hold back? Even if he wasn't aware he was? I looked back at Hanzo. He was studying the groves of his boots. I had not really taken much tought at them at first. They were a bit modern for my brother. He accepted modern tendencies with his bow, but that was only for functionality. They were also, quite skinny. I thought for a moment, my mind wandering to our fight all those years ago. There was quite a bit of destruction we caused, especially from the final blow. The building wasn't sound in the first place.

"Broth-," I hesitated. He already showed his displeasure of me calling him that. "Brother, how did you get out of there?"

Hanzo gasped a little. It confirmed my thoughts. I almost couldn't believe it took so long for me to figure out. Though they were very well built, it was the slimness that tipped them off.

Hanzo sneared. "I used the skills I had been taught."

More silence.

"The two of you," Zenyatta pulled both of our attention, "could have ended up in each other's situation."

He let that sink in. I shifted a bit uncomfortably. Nobody else was speeking. There was just the uncomfortable feeling of Hanzo's eyes on me.

"I shall let you meditate on this. However, I must also point out that Genji has forgiven you. Please try to forgive yourself as well. For both of your sakes."

And with that he returned to where he was before and began to meditate once more. This left my brother and I to stew in silence. 


	2. Words

McCree came crashing through the door. "Hey guys! Its High Noon so I got some lunch for me and our new friend!"

I looked over to McCree. He said that phrase again. It was annoying to everybody, but nobody wanted to tell him that. He was holding up a plastic bag. I could smell something savory comming off of it. It was probably something from one of the cheep restaurants around here. Even though I couldn't get hungry anymore, it brought up shadows of the feeling. But I just took a deep breath and leaned deeper into the sofa. I usually had some gum on me for those kinds of things, but I couldn't take off my mask in the crowded room. McCree strode over to the only table that was in the room. It was the table where Hanzo was sitting.

He ploped it down onto the table and rustled around inside the bag as he fished out some disposable chopsticks and a plastic fork. He skooted one styrofoam container to either side of the table and soon started to shove the entire mound of food into his mouth. From the looks of the food it was some teriyaki and a side of veggitables.

"So, did we get e'rething sorted out?" McCree said between mouthfulls.

Zenyatta turned to McCree and hummed out, "Yes, Shimada San will be acompanying us back to Overwatch."

McCree gave him a questioning look. "Shimada San? You mean Hanzo here?"

"It is considered rude to simply call someone by their first name if they do not know each other, Mr. McCree. In Japan it is respectfull to call someone by their last name, and with an honorific." My brother was bland in his inflection, as if he were simply stating a fact to a child. He opened the container and started to work at food slowly with chopsticks.

"We all just call Genji by 'is name, though."

"I am no longer a Shimada." I simply stated.

My brother took a swallow, then looked to me as if we finally agreed on something.

"Well, since we're all gonna be friends and techniqually, you aint a Shimada anymore then I'mma stick with Hanzo."

His face went sour. Brother was always one for formality. I could already tell that it would not take long for Hanzo to decide to kill McCree. Perhaps he has already.

"Either way, now that we have acomplished what we set off to do, I believe we should make our way to Overwatch." Zenyatta seemed to beem.

"Overwatch? That is who you have been with?" Hanzo glared at me.

"Yeup. And you're with us too now," McCree stated for me. At least he could read the tension in the room. "I got us a plane for tomorrow. Its early, so I suggest early shut eye."

Zenyatta nodded to McCree, "That sounds excellent."

"Actually, and I'm sorry 'bout this, but they'll be makin' you and Genji sit in an 'Omnic Only' section." McCree shook his head in disapointment at it all.

"That is fine. Genji and I have made many travels, and are used to it."

Hanzo shifted his gaze back to me. "You've known the omnic for long?"

I scowled under my mask. The bitterness he put into the word omnic was why we were in our position. 'Omnic Only' was really just code for cargo area. "After Overwatch, I traveled and soon found Zenyatta. He has become my teacher and mentor since. He is the one who has helped me come to terms and find forgiveness."

Hanzo simply turned back to his meal.

"Genji quickly became my best student," Zenyatta was always happy to state how far I came. I had been in a really dark place when we first met. Overwatch was the only place that kept me afloat. Untill they disbanded, I didn't notice how by how much I was barely hanging on. Fighting was how I let go of all of my uncertianty, lost in the chaos. Then everyone was gone along with the fights, and I realized that no matter how well tuned my body was, I still didn't feel right in it. After Zenyatta and his teachings was when I met peace. Meeting Zenyatta was like meeting Buddah. I would not be surprised if he really was Buddah's reincarnation. Hopefully his wisdom will eventually reach my brother.

There was an awkward silence again. McCree, not one for quiet, cleared his throat. "So, now 'ere all re-aquainted how about some tv?"

McCree quickly got up and moved to grab the remote. Then he ploped right down next to me and started flipping through channels, probably trying to find anything in english. Hanzo finished his food, and stared at the mess McCree made on the table.

"So you have no wish to eat?"

"I have no real stomach. Some non solid food, but not much else. And I really don't need to anyway." I quickly grabbed the remote from McCree, the news was on and talking about the recent aggression of Talon. They had become bold quite recently. Hanzo ignored the news and instead started to clean up the mess.

"What they sayn'?" McCree looked at the tv with a mixture of confusion and concern.

I listened first, then relayed, "Talon has become more active in the recent months. There are many lives that have been lost due to them and the uneasyness they bring. Many people still don't trust omnics, and some people are saying that humans should just get rid of omnics to stop the attacks."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If it's not one thing," McCree paused and leaned back, "then it's somethin' else. My whole familly's been in wars, all the way back to the Revolution."

This peaked my brother's intrest. He turned to look at McCree. "And yet you seem too carefree to be in any military familly."

I shook my head. Hanzo was always proud of the Shimada clan, and the history that came with the name.

"That's why I became an outlaw. Mum and Pap didn't like me not joinin' the army or marines so they just let me go my own way. Then I was with Blackwatch, where I could do what I was born to do, but without any o' the strictness. That's why they went tumblin' down though. And that gave me respect for rules."

Hanzo sat next to McCree, on the side farthest from me. "If only there were more poeple who understood the importance of rules." It was obviously directed towards the old me.

The news shifted their focus to the weather. So I gave the remote back to McCree who went back to flipping through them. It was highly unlikely that he would find anything that wasn't in Japanese, but he stubbornly kept on going. But then he stoped. It was an old black and white film, a period drama. He smirked a little. The styling probably reminded him of his cowboy films.

"Hey, Hanzo, could ya translate this for me?" McCree looked to Hanzo.

"I don't think it would matter, considering that you don't understand standard cultural differences."

He was probably still angry about the first name thing.

"Well, gotta start somewhere. And a good movie is a good place to start."

Hanzo sighed. "Very well. But you need to pay attention. A lot of things are said in action instead of words. Or even what is not even done or said."

Scratching his beard McCree twisted his face in confusion. "That doesn't make much sense. If a man has somethin' to say, he should just say it."

"It's the fact that he shouldn't have to say it." My brother sneered.

"Don't pay too much attention to what Hanzo says. Nobody is really like that anymore." I said, getting into the movie. It was picking up the action a bit. McCree just sat there and watched the movie. When the fighting died down, Hanzo started to translate for him. If something wasn't clear, McCree waited till a comercial to ask. He didn't seem to get some of the subtlties. But he continued to watch the movie. Then they watched another. The channel was having a marathon. After the second one, I got up and sat next to Zenyatta. We sat in silence as he meditated and I surfed the web. Eventually, It started to get late.

"Hey, lunch is startin' to wear off. Know a good place around here to get some food and whisky?"

"I am not sure about whisky, but there is a good place I know."

McCree jumped up, stretching out his legs. "Well then, lets get going!" Hanzo got up and followed him to the door without a word.

"Try not to stay out too late." Hanzo turned his head to me. "And not too much sake. We do have an early flight, according to McCree."

Hanzo just nodded and left with the cowboy. Hanzo forgot to mention that while there was a lot of meaning behind words not said, there is also a lot in what is said. 


	3. On The Road Again

It was a few hours later when they came back. I was expecting them to be drunk, considering how late it was. But they both seemed as sober as when they left. Relieved, I went back to my game. It was the latest shooter game. Hanna was already high in the global rankings. My progress in the game was slow, but I was quickly learning the maps and techniques. I vowed to defeat her one of these days. There was one time when we were in an arcade in Seol, where I was so close to beating her.

"Welcome back," Zenyatta mused.

"Thanks," McCree beamed. "Genji, why didn't ya tell me there was some good chow around here?"

I tilted my head my head at him. "I thought you only liked beef, which is not common in Japanese food."

"Point taken," McCree nodded. Then he turned back to Hanzo. "So, wanna catch another flick before hittin' the hey?"

"I would prefer to just sleep for the evening."

McCree removed his hat and threw it onto the table. "Alright then. I'll get the couch, and there's a bed in the other room."

Moving from the couch, I checked the time. I could probably get a really deep charge too. I looked towards Zenyatta and he seemed to have the same idea as he floated closer to the power outlet. McCree strolled over to the couch and threw himself onto the cushions non chalantly. Hanzo just stood by the door and watched as we plugged ourselves in for the night. There was a look of distrust thrown towards us. It must have been a bit of a shock to see me remove the cord from my side. I tried to ignore the similar feeling of alienation as my batteries started to recharge.

"Goodnight, Brother." He quickly looked away. If the reassuring preseance of Zenyatta weren't next to me, I probably would have spat out what I was feeling. At least I was trying. But Zenyatta's teachings helped me. His question from earlier pulsed in my mind. Maybe Hanzo will think on it tonight as well. And then I drifted to sleep.

My systems started to pull me out of sleep. It was early but my full battery got me as awake as a cup of black coffee. I got up to unplug myself when I saw that Hanzo was already up and about. He was sipping from a cup, and there was another one on the table next to him. The early riser as always. Zenyatta was still charging next to me. I nuddged at him to wake. His lights brightened untill he was awake.

"Good morning, Genji, Shimada San," then he turned to the couch, "McCree."

The cowboy was still snooring softly.

"I was just about to wake him." Hanzo set down his coffee.

He moved towards the couch as I made my way to the small bathroom. There was a small sack against the wall that I pulled behind me. I shut the door with my foot as I started to shift through the contents. Finally, I found the right pair of jeans, an old tee shirt, and a long sleeve flannel. At the bottom of the bag was a pair of sneekers. I carefully removed the extra armor around my chest and back. Being covered in even more steel was unnecissary for a day of traveling. Some of my curves fit a bit weird in the clothes, but I was used to the feeling. Then I went over to the mirror and removed my visor and helm. I took a moment to look over what was left of my face. Some tufts of hair were growing on my saclp, but only a little. Occasionally the scars would open up a little, but they looked as good as they could be. Then I washed my face with a wash cloth and dried it off. The cool wet cloth felt nice on my skin. I took a couple breaths of unfiltered air before slipping my helmet and visor back on. Maybe one day...

There was a knock at the door as I slung the pack over my shoulder. I opened the door to see McCree, looking dissheveled. He lumbered through the door just as I slipped past him. Hanzo looked at me with the same look of distrust that seemed to be his new signiture.

"Clothes today?"

"We will be out in public today. I'm also not going to worry about overheating in a fight today." I subconsiously rubbed at my shoulder. My mind flshed through the fight earlier. I held back, willing the dragons to be gentle. But I'm certian the fight left Hanzo more than sore. First hand experiance taught me that.

He just drank from the cup again. Probably his favorite tea. It was the only thing he drank more than sake

Soon after, McCree tumbled out of the bathroom. He seemed to be more awake, but was still incredibly drowsy. Hanzo got up, holding both cups. He handed one to McCree, who stared at it dumbfounded for a moment. Then he grabed it and downed the whole thing in one go. Hano's eyes widened in shock. I guesed it must have been black coffee. McCree to coffee is Hanzo to tea. Although in a bit more vigorus manner. They were alike in many ways actually.

"Aight," he mummbled. "I'll go check you, er us out. Just wait ou'side."

We followed behind McCree as the four of us made our way to the front entrance. McCree splintered off from us and made his way to a small desk near the front to settle accounts. There was a few moments of quiet.

"Whaddda hell do you mean? Excess Elecetric charge?!"

I had a bad feeling this would happen. It actually wasn't because Zenyatta and I took a lot of energy, well it was a little. The real reasoning was much simpler. A sigh escaped my chest and I stole a glance at my mentor. He was as hard to read as always. But I'd put money on him being a bit apolagetic over the situation. He hovered a bit closer to the door, as if he wanted to go back inside and try to help resolve the issue.

But McCree just busted through the door. A sour expression was plastered all over his face.

"What happend?" I inquired.

He just stared straight ahead and softly said, "Threated to post a bad review online." Hanzo raised an eyebrow at that anwser. "Either way, we should probably be going, and quickly."

McCree started walking with a quick pace. Since he was taller than both my brother and I, we had to practically jog to keep up. Zenyatta even shifted to walking with us. After a ways down the road, an ambulance raced past us. I believe McCree was going to get a lecture from somebody at Overwatch. Probably 76. Maybe Zenyatta as well. I was just wondering how he did it so quietly. Fights involving McCree usually ended up as loud as he was. After some turns and much distance he slowed down. Then he stopped.

"How about a cab?" He looked like the past five minutes didn't happen. My brother just cradeled his brow in his hand. There was a silent agreement between the rest of us that we didn't want to go through that again, so we just walked past him in silence. McCree followed after quietly. It was a while before we made it to the airport.

Security. Oh, how I hated going through security. It was always too much of a hassel to say I was just a cyborg, and to prove it would involve showing my face, so I just rode along with omnics. Though, I will admit the first time traveling in cargo was an eye opening experiance.

There was a seperate section of security for omnics. It didn't make sense to put someone made of metal through a metal detector. So, they had a team of sniffing dogs and pigs to try to find any contraband on us. And a pat down. I used to love the feeling of women touching me. But even after all these years it was uncomfortable to me in my body. Dr. Zeigler's usuall amending of this or that was understandable though awkward a lot of the time with where something had to be adjusted. The only way I could stand to be touched was when Zenyatta was helping me with my posture in Yoga. It reminded me of all the things he told me how I was improving. But sometimes I felt like I still had quite a ways to go.

I walked a little closer to Zenyatta as we regrouped with McCree and Hanzo. Apperantly McCree was flagged at the airport, but managed to talk his way out of being put into custody. Hanzo probably bribed them a little too, he kept looking at his wallet. It was still early for ourr flight, so McCree went and bought some tea and a bagel for Hanzo. "To apologize," he mummbled.

Then it was boarding time. Hanzo and McCree went through the gate. Zenyatta and I took a flight of stairs along with some other omnics to the tarmac, then climbed into the cargo of the plane. It technically wasn't cargo, since they had a flimsy wall between us and the luggage. But the intention still lingered. Zenyatta seemed to be even quieter than usual while on a plane. Trains, cabs, or anything else didn't bother him. I wondered if it was due to a particullarly bad experiance traveling through an airport. This usually made me a bit protective, embaressingly enough.

I settled in against the wall of the plane next to Zenyatta. There wasn't much room so we had to cram inside the plane. It wasn't long before the plane was taking off. We sat in silence as the plane was, I could only presume, farried down the runway. There was a stop for several moments. after a few moments, we were jolted back by the plane's thrust. Zenyatta fell onto me. He had lost his perfect balance.

"Master?" He was quiet. I helped him sit back up. Then I noticed he was shaking a bit. "Are you all right?"

He turned his head to me. Zenyatta was my calm and steady. It was worriesome to see him like this.

"I am alright. I was only lost in thought."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Perhaps he would follow his own advice. Zenyatta alwasys encouraged openness.

"It is memories of Mondatta, and our life before we came to Nepal." 


	4. Truths Laid Bare

"You have never told me about what you were programmed to do," I whispered. To some of the monks in Nepal, it was a bit of a touchy subject. It takes a lot to ignore programming, and it was the first question many of them faced about their own existance.

The plane started to level off.

"Mondatta and I were flight atendants." I stared at him a little baffled. For half a second, the thought of Zenyatta in a skimpy flight attendant uniform flashed through my mind. Complete with skirt and little scarf. I was immensely gratefull to the visor for hiding my face. My tempreture spiked a little, but within tolerances.

"Everyday, we would do the safety brief and bring peanuts to pasangers. I enjoyed flying, in all honesty. Mondatta didn't feel the same way. He much prefered to ponder on what he was told by passangers. The Omnic Crisis was still fresh in many people's minds, so there was much said to us. Eventually, we heard of the monastary. He insisted we joined. It is- was his calling. I actually took some convincing. Though I eventually agreed. The bond I wanted to keep with him was stronger than my desire to remain in the sky. My levitation was originally a system to help me keep balance during turbulance in the air. After some time of meditating, I found a way to use it as you see it. Mondatta never agreed with it. The way I used my skill reminded him of what he considered darker days."

Zenyatta finished. There was a stilness in him. He hadn't said a word about Mondatta since he died. I did the only thing I could by giving him room to grieve, and a friend to confide in if he ever needed to. This seemed to be that time.

"So, you just enjoy flying?"

He gave a small chuckle. "Immensly so. Flying is something that was never thought of possible for the longest time. There's a hope in it. And it's cool."

I returned the last statement with a laugh of my own. "As a younger brother myself, I can confirm that being the 'anoying little brother' is entirely about doing things your brother hates. And the only reason to make him mad, too." I noded at the last part. Granted, it led to some pretty drastic actions on my brother's half, but it was all worth it. Knowing what would happen, I would do it all again the same way.

Zenyatta leaned into me. All of his tension eased away. "Genji, I am so proud that you forgave your brother."

"You have told me this many times."

"And yet I am tempted to say it again. Mondatta and I were begining to have a falling out. For a while, I feared it would have ended the same way as if I had never left that plane." He gazed at the bulkhead, studying the rivets holding the pieces of metal firmly interlocked. "I feel guilty that I almost thanked them for taking him away before we could detest each other."

To me, Zenyatta seemed as if he had the anwser for everything. But then I realized, he knew the anwsers to my problems because he faced them himself. His philosophy was on interpersonal relationships, and I was his best student because we connected on so many things. I couldn't believe that I didn't realize it before. Without thinking, I wraped my arms around his small frame in a hug.

Then I whispered to him the advice he gave me every day when we first met. "You deserve to be happy." And as quickly as I grabbed him, I released him as well.

My tempreture was spiking again. There was no air conditioning in the Omnics section. Even my face was sweeting. Witha bit of squirming, I took my jacket off. My body was letting out steam as much as it could, some of the steam had condensed onto my shirt like sweat. Zenyatta was seeming to have trouble as well, his fans whirring loudly.

We were early along the 5 hour long flight. The other omnics had already switched to sleep mode, to make the time go faster and to reduce their heat output. Turning my head to Zenyatta, "Wouldn't you be more comfortable asleep, Master?"

"That would leave you in the heat, my student."

"I will be alright. I brought extra water." And I reached into my bag to retreave a bottle in example.

Zenyatta tilted his head at me. "Well, you know your limits." His voice trailed off. "Please make sure you don't, uhem, get any hotter than you already are." And he powered down.

After a short while of watching Zenyatta, to make sure he was cooling down well, I pulled out a book from my bag. Before opening the text, I hooked my arm around Zenyatta's. To keep track of his tempreture. When I was comfortable against the wall, I started to read. The book was good. It was about finding zen through maintiaining a motorcycle. Zenyatta recomenended it to me. Before I knew it, I was another chapter in and another hour later.

My tempreture had been creeping up, and I barely noticed it. I tried to release a small burst of steam, but I was dehydrated. Zenyatta would be upset, or as close to upset as he could get, if I let myself overheat too much. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to refillmy water tank with all of the other omnics around. They were asleep, though, I noted as a quick look around the compartment confirmed this. Shifting around, so I could unhinge my arm from around Zenyatta, I unfastened my visor. I cradeled the piece on top of the book as I drank deeply from the water bottle. Talking was one thing, but using my throat to drink was a little weird. The water hit my toung and hit the inside of my cybernetic throat. My face was where the divide was. I could feel all of the synthetic fibers in my neck working together, a mechanical means imitating an organic being's organic needs. And it coalesed in a 'stomach' that was close to my sholders, ready to be let of as steam or be directed to my heart, lungs and brain. I took a moment to feel the heat dissipating into the tank and let the rest of my body to regulate as needed, a puff of steam comming from my sleves.

Zenyatta suggested this when I became his pupil. He wanted me to aknowledge everything about my body. It was good advice. Though I didn't know it at first. Instead, I was trying to do the opposite and pretend that my body didn't affect me. Though, after a mishap that resulted in some much needed repairs, I started to take his lessons to heart. He had told me that while true self is without form, we are residing inside these bodies and we must take care of them. I finished off the water bottle.

Before I grabbed a second, I heard a noise. Not the steady thrum off the engines that had faded into the background, or the steady hum comming off of Zenyatta or the others down here. It was a tromping noise, as if someone was coming through the cargo area to where we were sitting. I quickly pulled on my visor, dimmed my lights, and hung limp against the wall. As the steps came closer, I just focused on my breathing, trying to make the rising and falling of my chest as slight as possible. Then the men came through the divide. Two of them settled at the center of the room. The third was ridgid in the walkway.

"I really don't think we should here..." he murmured. The guy was scrawny, but tall. His face was gaunt but with a strong jawline. He looked young, maybe as old as Zenyatta.

One of the two turned to him a little and sneered. About middle age, he cracked his nuckles, a metalic clicking coming from one. His face was angry, but eyes were sad. He was thick in the shoulders, and just as much in the gut. "Well, they shouldn't be here, either." The barrel man spoke with a russian accent.

The third man was silently looking at us. He was old. You could tell from his demenor that he had seen war. He was the shortest, but held himself in a way that made him seem like the largest person in the room. He just stared and mused. Then he looked at me. No, he was looking at Zenyatta. Then he shuffled his hand in his pocket for something. He took out a photograph and looked at it. It must have been a picture of Zenyatta becuase he just nodded at it at toned out, with no emotion, "It's him. Destroy the others. We don't want our target known. If they found out..."

My heart was in my throat. They wanted to kill my master, just like they killed his brother. And they would kill all of these innocent omnics in their sleep just to cover it up. Talon. The oldest one took a few steps to Zenyatta, and I waited patiently. Every second killed me as the man in front of me surveyed my master like he was an undesireable piece of toast. The other man just looked around him, a smirk plastered across his face as he was deciding wich of us to mutilate first. Finally, the war vet stretched out a hand towards Zenyatta.

I grabbed it. Then I tilted my head up to look him in the eye as my lights started to gleem green. It took him by surprise when my right fist impacted with the bottom of his jaw.

"I would prefer it if my master was given the chance to sleep." I smilled inwardly at how cool that must have looked. Point one for the green cyborg ninja dude. Unfortunately, these men dieing on an international flight would cause major issues for the newly reformed Overwatch. My swords were in a locked case in cargo, anyway.

So, before the elderly man could recover, I combo kicked him in the gut to send him buckling. The thick one started to rush towards me. Then I finished the first one with an elbow to the back of his neck. One down. I met the second in the middle. The young man was still in shock. Crouching, I dodged a flying fist. I shot out a foot and caught him in the ankles. He was top heavy. Because he skipped leg day, he crashed to the ground. He caught himself. The man in the back was starting to realize what he had gotten himself into. Second guy rolled before I could finish him. My fist hit the steel of the plane instead. My hand buckled the floor of the plane. It indented so much my hand stuck for a moment. I was using too much force again. Taking a deep breath I steadied my emotions. Before I could block he sent a fist to my face. Steel hit steel. The man's hand started to twitch. He tsked at hit. The prosthetic was broken. I was built better. His attention was away from me. In a dash I grabbed the jacket I had brought. Then I was at him again. He took a step back, startled at my speed. He tripped over the leg of an omnic. Down he went again. I grabbed his puddgey ankles. Then I tied them together with my jacket. 'Hog-tied' as McCree would say. The man couldn't reach beyond his stomach. He wasn't going anywhere. He just started to spout curses, presumably, in russian.

Then there was the last man. He was shuddering in the doorway. He was pointing something, a gun, at me. I held my hands up. If he pulled the trigger, the way he was shaking, he could hit an innocent. There was a twitchy smile on his face. It was obvious he had never fired one before.

"Stay away from me, man. Just stay away."

"Do not worry," I soothed, trying to immitate Zenyatta. "I won't hurt you. No one has to get hurt."

"Just shoot him!" The man on the floor shouted.

"Shut up! He took down Sarge like he was nuthin! Sarge- Sarge!"

I zipped around just in time to see the millitary man lunge at me. He grabbed my torso as I grabbed his neck and shoulder. He pushed foreward, and I pulled him over me. He braced his legs agaisnt the floor. We were in a stand still. I was about to shove him off. Then there was a bang. Limp. Mr. Millitary was sagging against me. I looked down at him. The kid hit him dead center. There was crimson all over his shirt and mine.

There was only one chance. I sat him against the wall. The man with the gun ran back to cargo. The man on the floor was shouting. I shook Zenyatta and shouted his name untill he awoke. He was fully awake at the sound of distress in my voice. He looked at the red on my shirt. Then the red on the man. He understood immediately, as he always does. He conjured his Orb of Harmony. A few of the omnics had awoken at the sound of the gunshot. But as they saw what had happened, they quickly shut themselves down again. So it was me and Zenyatta hoping we weren't too late as the man on the floor was shouting and crying for his friend. I watched the crimson died shirt rise and fall slowly. And then it spiked as he coughed violently and suddenly. And the world shifted back into reality.

He opened his eyes and stared at me. Then he turned his head towards Zenyatta. The man on the ground had stopped screaming he was just looking at Zenyatta. Master just looked around in surprise. "What happened? There is one man severly wounded, and one tied up. And I missed it all."

"Master," I started, "They tried to, they wanted to-"

He held a hand up to my mouth. "Calmly Genji. Everything is alright, and this fellow is all patched up now. So you don't have to get worked up. It's hot enough in here."

I released some steam. There was a few seconds of my breathing steadilly. The old soldier watched in confusion the rise and fall of my chest. My water tank will need to be filled again soon. Especially if there was anymore excitement today.

"We came down here to destroy you," the old man weezed. Zenyatta continued to heal him. "The war took different things from us. For some of us, it was our children. Others, it was parts of themselves. Even our mothers and fathers."

There was a grim silence. The man on the floor shuffled. "I wasn't in the war. I was too young to enlist. But I lived in the city and the war came to us."

My mind went to the Omnic Crisis. I fought in a few battles. There was not much I could do. Later I was able to joke about how I was built for stealth, not combat. As per our agreement, I was mostly was tasked with taking down the Shimada Clan. Though that time was particullary bitter to dwell upon. The backdrop of the war just made everything seem terrible everywhere. Sometimes it was hard to think about how difficult it was for everybody else as well.

"And junior, who went scurrying off. Both of his parents died protecting their home. We picked him up in our little rag-tag familly before we went to Talon." The man on the floor finished and finally seemed to run out of energy. It was as if just the memory of the war took everything out of him.

Zenyatta finished up healing the old man. The golden light dimmed down. Then he tilted his head at the man in a reassuring smile. "We can never change the past. The most we can do is learn from our errors. For the next generation's sake."

Hellfire seeped from the soldier's gaze. "And you are one to talk! It's because of you and your kind that generations are suffering!"

"That was not becuase of Master Zenyatta! Those Omnic were being controlled by the God Programms!"

"Calm back down. You're going to overheat." My systems were starting to show warrning signals. Zenyatta turned back to the man. "I am sorry that you think I am to blame. The war was before I was manufactured, so I am unable to understand fully what you feel. But that is why I travel and spred the words of the Shambali. So that pain need not be seen again."

The man just blinked. "You really think...?" The man looked dumbfounded, aggitated even. Then he rummeged around in his pocket. He pulled out the picture of Zenyatta. I was just now able to see that there was writting on the back. He placed it in Zenyatta's hand then looked at him squarely.

"Prove me wrong then." The man got up. Neither of us stopped him. He went over to his friend and untied him. He tossed me the shirt before heading back to the passenger section with his friend. 


	5. Greeting the Gang

The plane hit the tarmac without a hitch. Jostling around woke the omnics. I held Zenyatta steady as the not so gentle landing roused him.

"Thankfully there isn't someone mortally wounded this time," he chuckled in my ear.

I blushed a little bit as Zenyatta wobbled to his feet. He shifted around in my arms as I helped him recalibrate his balance after such a long flight. His balance regained much quicker than even the younger omnics who traveled with us, but I held on to him just the same. We were the first to make it to the terminal, besides humans of course. Hanzo and McCree were waiting for us, talking to each other.

Zenyatta shifted out of my arms and gave me some room to aproach my brother.

The two of them looked over to us. Hanzo averted his gaze quickly, but McCree beemed at us. "Good that we're all together now. Next-"

"McCree, we were attacked in storage."

You could see in his face as he processed those words. Hanzo held a stiff expression.

"It would probably be best to discuss the events with the rest of Overwatch." Zenyatta piqued up from behind. "We can discuss the events and the stipulations of them."

"Stipu-what? Fights are normal, and uhem, normal against omnics..."

"It was Talon," I breathed quietly.

McCree was silent for a moment. "Best not to talk too much then."

A quiet dread hung over us as we made our way through the airport. Tracer was waiting for us in the parking lot with an old, undisccript car with an unextraodinary apperance. She could feel the cloud that hung over us and stayed uncharistically silent. There was always a question on the tip of her tounge however, a simple looks from McCree every now and then made her swalow her inquiries.

Eventually we made it to Watchpoint: Gibralter. The base was still mostly in shambles. Several areas were cleaned up however, and because of Winston's dedication to live in the facility over the years entrusted livability at the least. The greatest challenge was to accomidate more people. So far the roster included Winston, Tracer, McCree, Mercy, Zenyatta, Hanzo and myself. A total of seven. There had been inquires from Trojborn and Reinhardt was trying to make his way to the base. Several people who had never been part of the original membership had submitted intrest through word of mouth. Overwatch reactivating was still only rumor at this point, appart from those who had been directly recalled. The new orginization was trying to set itself up before trying anything drastic. There was even rumors that the MEKA pilot and the freedom fighter Lucio were hoping to gain involvement. There hadn't been any formal briefs on recruiting yet, nor any formal briefs at all.

I had recieved the recall notice and inquired with my master over the situation. It had been long established between us that my days in Overwatch were some ofmy darkest. I wasn't sure if returning was the right course of action. Zenyatta in all his wisdom simply told me to inquire within. I responded that I knew that it would be the right thing to do, but was worried about being seperated from him. He responed by insisting that he would never have allowed me to leave without him either way. And thus, the decision was settled. After some argument over the safety of my master. But he quickly quelled my fears after an impromptu duel. It was a reminder how much a metal foot to the face could hurt. We made our way to Winston, who was completly accepting of an omnic into the new ranks. Then after some descussion and a few days pondering, we decided that there was a certian sharp shooter who would benefit Overwatch, if he chose to join. I was completely against the idea. Zenyatta simply acted as devil's advocate as he likes to. Then I came to the conclusion that his skills in both archery (as I had learned recently that my brother had not been spied upoon with a sword since that night years ago) and espionoge would help in recon situations. One ninja was not enough for Overwatch. It made me a little salty. But Zenyatta proposed to me that perhaps I was ready face my brother again. I had displayed desires for a while, after I finally accepted myself. And the grief Zenyatta showed after the assasination of Mondatta was the final nail in the coffin. So it was decided that Hanzo would be invited.

We wandered into the base and made our way through the clutter and decay of the old base to Winston's Lab. Hanzo held a disdained look on his face as if he was regretting his decision. He was always such a neat freak. You think he would have learned from putting up with my habbits for so many years. Though, 'putting up with' was a strong phrase, more like constantly berated me on them.

Winston was hard at work, like usual, when we gathered in his lab. He was so immeresed in his work that he did not notice us. Hanzo just stared at him, then turned to us. He had a bewildred look on his face as if seeing a gorilla in space armour was the strangest thing in the world. Well, stranger than a woman who's time was broken, a green cyborg ninja dude, an robot monk, or spirit dragons. McCree cleared his throat loudly.

This got Winston's attention. He turned around and grinned. "Sorry I didn't see you there! I was fine tuning my latest invention. It's a portable shield system! This will protect us!" Then he saw Hanzo standing behind us.

"I see you were able to find us a new friend, Genji."

My brother was silent for a moment, stunned that Winston could speek. "I am Shimada Hanzo. It is a pleasure to be working with you." He bowed his head some, to go with his flavorless introduction.

"Well," Winston stared, taken back by Hanzo's formality, "likewise. Consider this place your home. We don't have too much of the facility restored, but we will in time. Till then-"

"Before we get into any of that, big guy," McCree's face turned serious. "We need to have a little sit down. Mision was compromised."

"What? How? When-"

"Meetin'," was all he said. Winston was quiet for a second.

"Athena, get Mercy in here. We need a briefing pronto."

"I'm on it. I'll also set up recruit documentation for our new agent."

"Oh, that too. Thank you, Athena."

"You're welcome Winston."

Hanzo turned to me with yet another exasperated look. Today just seemed to not be his day.

"You might want to introduce yourself, Athena," I spoke up. "Hanzo is not up to speed on how Overwatch works."

"Hello, Agent Hanzo. My name is Athena. I am the AI that manages all of Overwatch's systems. If there is anything you would like to know about Overwatch, all you need is to ask. Once you have been processed in the roster, I will have a tutorial-"

"Genji, you're back!" a golden voice rang out. "And you returned with your brother." Mercy looked him over like she was deciding what was the best way to disect him. Hanzo looked very uncomfortable.

"Hanzo, this is Doctor Angela Zeigler. Agent Mercy." I looked him square in the eye. "She is the one who reconstructed my body."

He shifted uncomfortably. I could only imagine the thoughts he had for the woman who undid all of his hard work.

Master turned to her. "After we met you were so busy working with Genji that I never had the chance to thank you for all the hard work you put into making his body. It really is exquisite." She and I both blushed slightly. Hanzo bristled even more.

"Speeking of which," she turned back to me, "How was everything during the trip? Like I said, it was mostly your old parts."

"Everything feels good, and there weren't any complications or issues." I rolled my shoulders and stretched a little to reassure her."

"And you didn't have any issues adapting back into your old settings from your wander settings?"

"None at all. You always do such good tuning." I tillted my head to Hanzo, who was completely lost to the conversation between us. "After Overwatch, one of the last things Dr. Ziegler did for me was reformat my hardware so I would be able to go long periods of time without needing major maintinance, as well as energy efficcency, and other things like that. It really helped in Nepal. I would have frozen over several times if not for those upgrades."

"Well, I was able to balance durability and lethality with this format."

"I could feel it on the plane-"

"Did you feel any changes in air pressure or-"  
"Zenyatta and I were attacked in the cargo bay." Her expression went from worry to fear. "By Talon."

Tracer blinked up close to Zenyatta. "But you guys handled it, ok. I mean, you're here, so had to!"

"Yes, we managed to end things peacefully." Zenyatta was pleased that it had ended like it did.

Winston shambled over. "Are you sure it was Talon? Things don't usually end well when they are involved."

"That's what they called themselves." I crossed my arms and thought. It really was strange behavior on their part.

Zenyatta ruffled through his saffron pants, then pulled out the photo. "We were rewarded with this, when we were able to settle things."

Winston took the picture and held it between his hands. He looked between the image and Zenyatta. "They were looking for you." Master just nodded his head. Then Winston flipped over the picture. There were numbers on the back. Neither Zenyatta nor I were able to make heads or tales of the riddle. "I'll see if I can get this decodded."

"But there is more to it." Hanzo spoke up. "If our enemies know where we are, then it means we have been compromised."

"They at least know where Zenny is, love." Tracer zipped up to Winston. "It's just Zenyatta they were looking for, right? Not neccisarilly Overwatch."

I mused, "They were unaware of me, as well."

"So it might not be a leak?" McCree asked. "Then where they gettin' their intel?"

"And why Zenyatta?" Mercy looked at him. "You said that you were no longer affiliated with the Shambali? If it wasn't anything to do with Overwatch, and not because of being with the Shambali? You are just a standard omnic, correct?"

Zenyatta tilted his head. "While there certianly is no such thing as a standard omnic, there is nothing that I would deem atypical about my construction. Not that I would know. My memory started the first time I came online."

I was starting to get worried. To think that people like Talon were trying to go after my master was dread inducing. "So our only clue is that photo."

"That may be a clue, or it may be a way to waste our time and resources. We need to focus on our breach of security." Hanzo was stiff. I could feel an argument comming on.

"But it might not be a breach of security," I droned back at him. "We already discussed that. Unless you weren't listening."

"I was listening," Hanzo wasn't looking at me. "And all of your 'evidence' was circumstantial at best."

"Sometimes there isn't any physical evidence! There can be truth in meaning!" Zenyatta put his hand on my shoulder. I instantly calmed down. My urge to argue with Hanzo was gone.

Master looked around the room. "What we don't have is anwsers. Though that is not a permenant problem. Finding one solution leads to another."

"Zen's right! Only way we know what that paper means is if we find out!" Tracer beamed up at us, trying to help defuse the tension.

Hanzo just sighed and went silent. The method may not be to his liking, but it was all we could do. He seemed to realize this.

"If that's 'erething that I think we should get Hanzo saddled up with a room. We had quite a few hours 'o flyin'. Who he bunkin' with?" He said it through a toothy grin.

Athen's screen lighted up. "Current room standing is: Tracer with Mercy," I mentally went over the how Mercy was liable to get even less sleep than usuall if she was rooming with tracer for the time being. "Genji and Zenyatta, Winston in a room by himself, due to his size, and McCree with an empty bunk."

"Why did you bother asking if you knew you were the only one with an empty bed?" Hanzo gave him a foul look out the corner of his eye.

McCree gave out a lud belly laugh. "Cause I love the look on your face when ya figgure somthin out. And you like reasons."

"You can been sly when you want to, it seems." Hanzo started to walk towards the door. "Well, then? I thought you were going to lead me to the room."

McCree gave a small wave as he sped up to Hanzo. Tracer just giggled at the door. It was kinda funny. There was no way McCree was gonna get used to rooming with my brother. I sure couldn't.

"I guess we should all get back to work, then." Mercy quietly stated. "I'll be in the med labs."

Then she left, and Trascer soon after. I looked to Winston, who continued to work at his console. He gave a thumbs up.

"Come on Master, lets get back to our room. We need to reset our time zones."

He hovered a bit closer and seemed to smile as he said, "Yes, I am feeling a bit jet lagged." We both laughed, Zenyatta's more of an airy chuckle. I made as little snort as we calmy made our way to some much needed rest. 


	6. When We Wake

It was much later. I had found myself in front of Hanzo adn McCree's door. He hadn't shown up for dinner. McCree said he just couldn't get him to come with him. Zenyatta and I had shown up just for the company. I was still chewing the gum I stuck in my mouth beforehand.

I rapped my knuckle against the door. There was silence. Then the door opened. Hanzo stared at me for a moment, then was shutting the door when I stuck my foot into his room.

"The food here is edible." I jokingly reassured him.

Hanzo looked down. "I have no doubt about that." Then more silence. He just put more pressure on the door.

I forced my body to lean on the door. "Take it from somebody who can't, brother. Eat while you can."

He just turned back to his neetly made bed and sat on it. After a moment, I followed behind him and sat on McCree's besheveled sheets.

"What's on your mind? Come on. We can talk." I leaned in close. Hanzo kept his back straight. The poised dragon as always.

Eveentually, he gazed back at me. "It's not my place to say."

"If it's what's troubling you, then you are always free to say it. That's what Zenyatta always said to me."

I could tell it took effort, but Hanzo finally turned to face me. "I have been thinking of when you came back, and showed me your face. It's been haunting me."

His voice was shaking. I coiled back a little bit. So that's what this was about. Zenyatta was right when he said it would take time. "Well, it's not like my face will change anytime soon. I do keep it hidden away." And I felt my visor with my hand.

"It's the fact that you have to keep it hidden." I looked up. "You used to always be so vain, especially after you died your hair. And the fact that, that, I am the reason."

"Hanzo,"

He balled up his fists. "It's all because of me. You are so different because of me. And not just your body. Your confidence is still there when you speak. But your eyes held the deepest betrayal. They were the eyes of a man who died."

"But they are also the eyes of a man who refused to die." He stopped. He looked unsure. And Hanzo was a man who was never unsure. "Look. I died. Dr. Zeigler said my heart stopped for a few moments. But this is a second chance. Few people get a second chance."

"Not many people deserve a second chance."

"Whether you deserve it or not, I'm willing to forgive you." I sighed. Hanzo was so frustrating at times. "Please. You say I've changed. But that's what you always wanted, right? I finally mellowed out."

"This isn't exactly what I meant by that."

I laughed a little. "The Iris works in many ways."

"Is that also something your mentor would say?"

"Yes. He is the reason behind my biggest change. I can only wonder how things would have been if we met before..." My voice trailed off.

"Before all that?" I nodded. He was quiet again. There was more on the ripof his tounge. I just looked at him, and he seemed to get my intent to continue. "What... What was it like... when you first woke up?"

I stared at him. For the longest time I was like that, dwelling on the past. "Don't do that to yourself, Hanzo."

"You say you forgive me and want me to forgive myself, but for years I didn't even know that you were alive. I didn't know what you hadto go through. How can I do that when I don't even know what really happened?"

We looked at each other. Was this his first step to reconciling with himself? Or was it just more pain? It was in no way a simple story. Then I reached up formy mask. If it was to be said, it needed be told eye to eye. But before that, I nudged McCree's spitoon closer with my foot and spat out my gum. The flavor was gone anyway. Hanzo gave a look of disgust at the thing. But his attention turned back to me when I began the story.

It was pain everywhere, so intense and deep that it ate at my soul. The pain was fading. So was everything else. I didn't know if I should hold on or let go. I knew it could only be death if I stopped, I had seen that in my brother's eyes in the reflection of his sword. And death didn't seem like too bad of an option at that point. Better at least then this ache. But I wanted to live. I wanted to eat Ramen one last time, or spend one last night with a lover.

Then everything cut off.

It felt like my next hartbeat was when I was pulled out of that darkness. But I was in a new darkness. This darkness was less menacing. Perhaps that was because of the smell. Instead of burning flesh, it was the smell of sterile air and cleaner. The smell of a hospital, I decided finally. That would explain the steady beeping of a heartbeat monitor. The darkness, it felt like gauze over my face. I certianly hoped my face wouldn't scar. Or maybe just a little. Chicks dig that.

Then I relaxed. It must be one of the high end hospitals the Shimada clan had their fingers in. I was going to get the royal treatment. Hanzo had really made it look serious. He probably didn't mean to go after me so hard. Maybe I should indulge twice as much to get him back? I entertained the thought when I tried to reach for the gauze. But my arms didn't move. I couldn't really feel them either. Or my legs. I tried to move. There was nothing. The darkness seemed more intimidating. I tried to wiggle anything, but all I could do was shift around. The beeping in the background was increasing its tempo.

I heard hurried footsteps and words muffled. Whoever was there stayed still for a moment. Then they put a hand on my head. They were undoing the bandages. The beeping quickened. They stopped and turned away for a moment. I tried to say something, but my jaw had the same emptyness as my arms and legs. I could feel my dry tounge in my mouth, however. But it felt strange in a way I couldn't describe.

And they continued on with unwrapping my face. My fear was quickly subsiding. A sedative? Or just something for my wound up nerves? The layers of gauze came off as light started to filter to my eyes. The faintest brightness hurt, and I twisted my head. Then there was a gentle hand on me. It was hard to tell where it was, because everything was so numb. But I could tellit was there because it stopped me from my silent protest. Then I herd it.

"Please, I'll put the bandages back on in a minute. But I need your permission fist."

Permission? For what? And wouldn't they be asking Hanzo about anything medical? Wasn't that how it was supposed to go if the person, if I, couldn't give an anwser? Considering the inability to communicate would make it obvious which of us to ask. Nonetheless, I stayed still, hoping this would end quickly, or I could at least get to know what was going on. The last of the bindings were off.

Above me was a face I wouldn't mind being below me. I made a mental note to get the nurse's number when I could.

"I am Angela Zeigler, and I am your surgeon." She looked at me, searching in my eyes if I could understand her. She was speeking english dusted with some European accent. A smart foreign chick. I hadn't had many of those. "Do you understand me? One blink for yes, two for no."

I blinked once. As much as I wanted to just get some anwsers, apperantly I'd have to play by the rules.

"Good. Ok, now do you remember what happened?" Another single blink. Hanzo attacked me. "You were badly wounded." Her eyes looked sad as she looked up and down me. My mind stiffened. I still hadn't been able to move around.

"You are stable for now. But there is a lot that we need to do to keep you that way. I don't have permission from my superiors though." She scooted a stool or something closer to the bed. "We know who you are, Genji Shimada. And my bosses consider you a possible asset. You aren't much use as you are now though. They propose a deal. We save your life. You work for Overwatch."

I wanted to ask more questions. So this wasn't some big joke? So Hanzo really did try to kill me? So this was all real? So I won't be able to get out of this bed without agreeing? The thought of ramen and a pretty girl, maybe this one, settled in my mind again. I blinked once.

"Alright then. We'll begin with some surgery in the morning. I'll have Winston start on the fabricating." She got up and hurried to the door. "Till then, just rest. It's going to be hard when we start your rehab."

There was a sinking feeling in my gut. I still didn't have much idea of what was going on. What was I really supposed to do? Anxiety tried to eat at me, but whatever that doctor gave me was keeping it down. So I wasn't even allowed to worry about it. This was starting to feel like the Shimada Clan. My thoughts tumbled over each other as darkness overcame me again.

Streaks of blue and a howling wind.

There was a jolt of fear as I woke up. The heartbeat monitor was running furriously. My eyes traced the ceiling. The same damn ceiling. There was a blanket of dread when I realized it was the ceiling from when I woke up. I still couldn't move. The door opened up and there were hurried steps. The doctor from yesterday, Zeigler, looked at me then rummeged through a small cubbord to my left. It was probably more of that calming medicine.

"It seemes we have a routine starting, hmm?" She tried to give a smile. "But today is your first surgery. We haven't completed all of the schematics, but we'll get them finished soon. We already have basic life support systems working. Today we are going to get you an interal energy storage. You've been hooked directly into our grid since we finished the emergency operations."

I was a bit lost. There was a feeling I would be grunting in protest if it wasn't for whatever it was they gave me. Instead I was just shaking a little. Schematics? Life support? Hooked into their grid? She was talking to me like I was a broken omnic. What kind of surgery were they going to do?

She pulled her collar close and said something into a small mike. Soon after a group of people in scrubs started to come in through my door. She started to talk to them in hurried German. They messing with something behind me. I could feel their hands on my back and neck. It felt like they were putting things in and taking other things out. It almost felt like they were pluging me into something. Was this what they were talking about?

Soon we were making our way down the hallways of the hospital. There were new celing tiles to look at, at least. Eventually I was pushed into a doorway that led to a large room. There were people in full operating gowns. A person, I couldn't tell male or female, set a plastic mask around my face. I couldn't feel it on my jaw, instead it hit my neck. How bad was my face? They looked at me, and their eyes darted away. "Count backwards from 10..."

As I was thinking how Zeigler was the only one who actually looked me in the eye, more of this seemingly constant anxiety bubbled up. But it was quickly washed out as my mind feel into a slumber.

And again I woke up looking at those ceiling tiles. I was really hating those things. The staining along one from some unknown water leak was now a familiar shape. It kinda looked like a cow. Now was when I was really wishing this was a dream.

What was new though, was some weight on my face. Or more spacifically, my jaw. Were they able to fix it? I gingerly felt around in my mouth with my tounge. Before, there was gauze in my mouth. Now it was wet with saliva and had a texture like rubber. It was harder at my lower pallete, that was eddged with teeth. Though they felt unfamiliar. Too perfect, even from how vainly I kept mine clean. Over the teeth was more of the rubbery texture, but soft. My lips and cheeks? The top of my mouth felt normal, albeit still sore. The bottom was foreign. I was so involved with feeling my mouth that I barely herd the steps of a constant face.

"How are you doing?"

I jerked my head. Wait, I could move my head now? Somewhat at least.

"It's good to feel your new jaw. The energy storage was finished faster than we thought, so we went ahead and got you something to talk with as well. Though we aren't sure if you will be able to adapt to a new voice. Nanite technology is already mostly experimental, and to add on all of the mechanical functions as well. Least to say, you will surely be one of a kind when you are finished here."

Tiliting my head to convey my confusion, as well as to feel my new found mobility. It was awkward. Almost as if my brain wasn't talking to my body right. That heartbeat monitor was no longer running, thank god. But she did see somthing in my eyes that made her reach for my medicine. I needed to ask her about that.

My jaw was even more jittery than my neck. She leaned in closer to me, trying to mimic her mouth to mine. I guess she was trying to coach me a little bit, but I could barely tell what my own mouth was doing. I ended up biting my tounge a few times before I could force a sound out of my throat.

"Wh- Whaaaat..." I paused. My voice? It sounded like some autotuned pop song. "Whaaaaat. Aaam. Aiii?" My voice was building in static at the end. I thought back to how it felt to speak before. Not like this, certianlly not like this. This was more like a tone was comming from deep in my neck. But instead of from vocal cords, it came from a distant speaker.

She looked sheepishly around her as she wrote something down on her clipboard. "Your voicebox is functional, I see. With time you'll probably adjust to it."

I didn't want to adjust to it! I wanted to know what was going on. Things were moving so fast and I didn't have any say in anything. Correction; I said I wanted to live. But no one told me what that ment.

"Whaaat amm Ii?"

The good doctor squirmed a bit. Then she set the clipboard down on the cupobard. She reached down to the bottom drawer and pulled out a small hand mirror. Gently sitting on the bed to get a better angle, she tilted it around so I could see what was left of me. My suspicion of lossing my arms and legs turned out to be true. But what I didn't expect was to see my poorly healing face, which was taking on a greenish tint, ending abruptly in a silicone jaw. My hair was gone, and instead there was some kind of metal around the base of my skull. It only continued on, with synthetic muscles leading down to a mechanical set of shoulders with wires hanging from the ends. My gaze traveled further down to see about a ribcage's worth tubes that led from my throat to a small silicone container that was throabing just to the left of center in my chest. My heart? It's beating was in tandem with the pumping I felt in my face. The small thing felt heavy. There was another container of the same material that was much larger and divided into two haves. They moved slowly and with my breaths, the material stretching as they filled with air. Underneath it all was a segmented line of metal, from my head down farther than what 'organs' I had.

"You are a... full body amputee." She carefull found each word as she said it. She spoke them calmly, rationally, and slowly. "Colloquially, a cyborg. What we were able to save was your cranium, your heart, your left lung, and your spine. Your brain and spine being the only thing science can't yet reproduce. You were actually quite lucky. We have reinfored your skull, there was a lot of fracturing. Your spine, which we worked on today, has been reinforced as well. That's also where we intigrated your power systems. Without those, the mechanics and nanites in your system would fail very quickly. It's in the spine so it can connect easilly to the rest of your body, like how nerves line along the spinal column. You'll actually be sensitive to electrical current. Your heart and lungs are encased in a flexible silicone layer that will protect them from shock as well as impact. All silicone in your body is laced with nanites that act as all cells, most notably antibodies. You won't be able to get sick anymore. They will also act as blood cells, exchanging oxygen and nutrients in your body. Though 'blood' wouldn't be a correct term anymore. Your internal fluid is a water based mixture of chemicals and nutrients, as well as more nanites. We're gonna try to get you some limbs next, so we can start calibrating the connection between your brain and the rest of your body. After that, we will case everything into a metal shell to prevent damage to your systems."

She took a breath, and looked over me. This woman was insane. I twisted my head back and forth. A cyborg? Really? That... that wasn't right. I couldn't be a cyborg! I'm Genji Shimada! Playboy ninja of the Shimada clan! A metal body was not... not possible. I felt around in my mouth again, feeling it. It wasn't possible but it felt too real. Too there and not there, too fake and too a part of me to be just a sick dream. I wanted it off of me. I wanted out of this mixture of metal and silicon and nanites.

Then I was calming down again. I looked over to Dr. Zeigler. She was moving an empty tube from somthing near my neck. "I'll get you a perscription for that. Untill you have arms to administer it to yourself, I'll come by and do it for you." My medicine again. "I'd just have it be given orally, but... There wasn't any room in the plans for a stomach. Not a real one at least. As your body intakes nutrition, it'll be through this same port. You'll only need to refill it every six months, but it does take a while to get it into your system. Though, you can make it from a mixture of potatoes and milk if you ever need to. They hold all the nutrition needed by a human. If you make it that way, and eat it, you'll need to have the excess waste cleaned out. I'll show you where when we get that installed. Other than that, your body can't handle solid food."

She was quiet. I closed my eyes. The amount of how much of the situation I could take was passed a while ago. Zeigler seemed to feel it, and her footsteps left, closing the door gently behind her. No more solid food. No more ramen. Well, if she was to be believed, maybe the broth. For some reason, that seemed like one of the worst things to happen. Maybe it was because of what I said to myself when I agreed. There was no way I was going to have anymore crowded beds with a face like this. And now I couldn't spend a couple houdred yen at my favorite ramen shops. Sorror mixed with exahustion. It was a wonder how much I was sleeping.

A glinting maw and eyes that were filled with hate and sorrow.

I didn't want to open my eyes and look at that ceiling again. But I couldn't even turn over to my side. My neck was seriously starting to cramp up. I rolled my head around. My neck felt a bit more responsive, but not much. Then I moved my jaw around to see how it was working. Still jittery. Uhh. Even worse was how dry it felt. Thinking back, it must have been days since I last had some water. My mouth was desperate for it, begging for some relief. Though it was only my top lips that were chapped, the silicon ones probably unable to chap up I thought bitterly, the bottom ones were also uncomfortably dry. Where was that doctor?

So I pried my eyes open to check if she was there. From my view point, all I could tell was that the room was empty. I sighed and tried calling out. "Heellooo?" The sound was strange. I tried again "Zeeeei... Zeeeiggg-" My voice caught off painfully at the difficulty of completing the name. Why did it have to be so difficult to pronounce in the first place?

Thankfully, there was the sound of footsteps comming down the hall. Maybe she could tell I was awake from the cameras in the room. I didn't realize I saw them untill yesterday. The sudden thought of people looking at me seemed like a horrible thing. The thought that it might be Zeigler was a better thought. Though not by much.

She came through the door and looked at me worriedly. She stood to the side like always, ready to administer if needed.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

I nodded a bit. "Waaa. Waaaaatr." Close enough. I tilted my head to the side, like a question. The gesture made me think of all the times I had seen an omnic on tv and how they moved their heads for emphasis.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You still don't have that stomach we discussed yesterday. That is tomorrow's operation. Today we are going to get you some arms and legs."

While appendages of any kind seemed wonderfull right about now, the dryness of my mouth was a bit more promonient on my mind. I'm pretty sure I got an A+ in priorities at school.

"I'll see if we can get you a humidifier in here." Then she fished around in her pocket. She pulled out a small plastic tube. Chapstick. She rubbed some onto her finger and kneeded some over my mouth.

She put it away in her pocket and moved behind my bed. It was time to get rolling. "Juusstt yuu?"

"It's condensed into a single cord that connects to the base of your spine." We went past empty halways and found ourselves in the operating room. More obscured faces. But this time, I was able to look around. Over on the table next to me was a complete set of arms and legs. Well, the carbon fiber equivalent. I shuddered thinking about them. Mine but not mine. Then the plastic mask. And before I could think about how the same nurse from before didn't even try to give me eye contact, I was out.

Those same tiles. My mind was realling. How many times had I looked at those ceiling tiles again? How many days was I really here? I'd have to ask Dr. Zeigler. Then I turned over to where she usually stood. She wasn't there. She'd be here soon. Till then... I realized I had turned on my side. Arms, legs, right? Shifting onto my back again. I closed my eyes and tried to wiggle my toes. There was something. For the first time in what was feeling like eternity, there was some kind of feeling in this body. Maybe I could do this.

And Dr. Zeigler came through the door. She smiled plesantly at me. "How are you doing? Any discomfort?"

There was a moment where I tried to feel anything else. I gave a few jerks and twitches. It was mostly impressions of feelings. I could tell I was moving, but not much besides that. "Ii donntt knnnnow."

"Well, tomorow morning is your last actuall surgery. That 'stomach' you've been looking foreward to. Till then, and afterwards is when we can work on calibrating everything. It'll be just like normal physical rehab."

Getting aquainted with this body... it was like I was 5 and told to eat spinach. It's good for me, and I'm not leaving the table untill I do. But can I really stomach it? I didn't even want to look at it. Apperantly nobody else wanted to either.

"Oh, and here." She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it into my hand. She curlled my fingers around it. "Your first homework assignment."

Then she got up and left. I squezed the object. It was small, hard, and a cylinder. Then I shifted my arm, I paused a moment to gather myself, then I pulled my hand in front of me. It was a tube of chapstick, nestled in the palm of my new hand. The small gift fell from my hand and clattered on the floor. I was shaking. Was that because of how I barely hold my entire body from shaking everytime I moved, or because I couldn't stand the sight of the grey appendage. I dropped my arm and let it fall back to my side. It hit the side of my chest with a clunk. I didn't even try to fight sleep. But it still eluded me as I just lay there.

The doors of the small building turning to steel, trapping me inside.

Dr. Zeigler was already there. She was speaking to me. "Finally, awake. That's good. I'm afraid your surgery will be delayed for a while. There are a lot of poeple in emergency care right now. Sometimes missions don't go well."

Waiting. Isn't that all I had been doing? That and sleeping. Not even eating. I bit my tounge a little bit. It had been days, and I wasn't even hungry.

She must have seen the displeasure on my face because she got my attention again. "I think you dropped this, so I'll just put it on the table next to you so you can get it, alright?"

I simply noded.

"Great! Now, why don't I help you up?" She held my side and I reflexively cringed away from her. I didn't want this body to be touched. It felt wrong for it to be touched. Not hurt, but for someone to hold this thing I was unplesant.

Dr. Zeigler withdrew herself. "Are you in pain? Did I hurt you?"

I looked at her questioningly. "Paain?" Well, at least I was getting better at speaking.

"Yes. There are many sensors built throughout your limbs and chasie. You can still feel pressure, tempreture, texture and other things. Pain was the primary concern. If you can't tell that you are damaged, how can you fix what is broken? That's why pain exists."

I mulled over her words. This body will be able to feel things? There was a moment where I was still before I shook my head. "I caan't feeel."

Her eyes blinked for a moment. Then she pulled her clipboard in front of her and started writting something down. Then she set it aside agian, a bit roughly, and stared at me. Her face was twisted into thought. Then she pulled herself upright and pulled a needle out of a drawer. She grabbed my arm with her free hand to keep it steady, and poked me with the needle. She looked at my face for any reaction. There was no reaction to give. She tried poking me in several other places, but all the same. Then she went over to the other end of the room. She pulled down a paper towel and ran it under the tap. She held it for a moment, testing it. Then she quickly came back over and placed it in my hand.

"Is it warm, or cold?"

I just shook my head. I couldn't tell. I couldn't even tell that it was wet. It was just a hollow pressure.

"Hmm, let me look over your files for a moment." She pulled out a hollowtablet. After pressing a few buttons an image appeared of what I could only guess was my schematics. I shiffted at the thought. She manuvered the image to the neck and head portion. She murmured something as she flipped through text files that apperaed alongside the image. "Oh, so he hasn't finished the software."

Then she closed it up and set it back next "I'm sorry about that. It seems that some of your internal software hasn't been completed yet. Sensations are actually born within the brain, not the body. It's more like an interpretation of input from nerves. While I know biology, I'm afraid I'm not an expert in computer science. Because of that, I'm working in conjunction with one of our head scientists to make the software that will act as the interpretation for the mechanical parts of your body. He's been busy with other projects, but I told him this had priority."

She sighed looked over me. Her eyes looked tired. But she kept up the smile. It made me think of a busy mother who was trying to keep track over a handfull of kids. Mother...

"Can you try to sit up? Even without the software we can still start some of your therapy."

I shifted around. Legs, waist, shoulders. Dr. Zeigler didn't try to touch me again. Eventually, I was able to get myself up into a proped position. This new body didn't feel like me. It was something else.

"Good, good. You're getting it! Just try to feel what your body is telling you."

What it was telling me? Right now it was telling me that there were pistons in my arms, wires in my spine, and everything else. It was strange, I could feel feel what was in this body, but actuall sensations eluded me. Stupid software.

"Now, in regards to your new limbs. They will require omnic oil to run smoothly. You can refill your stores of it the same way as you refill on nutrition."

"Eat?"

"Oh, no, of course not! Well, you could..." She had a questioning look on her face. "But what I ment was through the port. Here, I'll show you where."

She didn't touch me, thankfully. Instead she pointed to some place on my back. "Here, there are three ports on your back, just below the shoulder blades. The left and right ones are for nutrition, and the lower one for oil. I'll show you with the oil one, if you're ok with it."

I nodded gently. She pressed in on something on back. Something slid out, and she pulled it out. The empty socket felt bare. held the small cylinder in front of me. These tubes hold what you need. When they get low, it will send a warning to your brain. But it will take a while for them to run low. Here."

She placed it in my hand and gestured for me to try returning it. I twisted it around in my hand, looking at it. The outer casing was a thick, clear, plastic and on the inside was the oil. Oil. I ran on oil. Electricity and 'nutrition' and oil. Shoving the thought out of my mind, I leaned foreward so I could shakilly manuver my arm behind me. I used the other one to locate the hole. I dropped the vial. Dr. Zeigler quickly placed it back in my hand and gave me a thumbs up. I finnaly was able to place it over the slot and pushed it in. After an inch the small tube started to twist itself into place. The autonomy of it felt wrong.

"Very good! Oh, wait, I'm getting a message." Her pager was beeping. "That is our que. The OR is ready now. Lay back down, and we'll get this over with."

I settled back in again as she manuvered us down the hall. I didn't look the nurse this time either.

Back to those ceiling tiles. My mouth was dry so I turned to the small table next to my bed to look for the chapstick. Next to it was a glass of water. I reached for it. They finished my arms and legs apperantly. There were fake tendons beneath a layer of silicon skin. My hand was still articulated utilitarian style, though. I clenched my hand a few times to test it out. It was running smother, but still a little jerky. I looked back at the glass. There was condensation around it. Slowly, I curled my fingers around it. 40 degress. I paused. The data streamed into my mind. I felt it, as much as I quantified it. They finished my software, too I guess. The glass shattered in my hand. Damage, left hand, cut in palm. Minor. It was dull info mixed with a steady sear. The feeling wasn't really of pain, but the impression of it. Still hurt though.

Dr. Zeigler came in through the door. "Oh, is everything all right?" She hurried over when she saw the cut, examining some of the silvery strands of sythetic muscle beneath. Looking over the damage, she quietly sighed. "Well, it's minor. The nanites will patch it up. If any damage is too great then you'll need repairs. So listen to your body. Ah yes, we got your software updated now. Does everything feel ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Wow, that sounded relatively normal. Besides the electronic reverb.

She took out her clipboard. "Did you feel pain when you cut yourself?"

There was a moment where I paused, but I eventually confirmed with a stiff nod.

"All right then. Since you don't have anymore surgeries, I have an appointment schedualed for you with physial thrapy around noo-" She stopped herself. "Around midday, then a psychaiatrist in the afternoon. Do you think you're up for it?"

The thought of seeing other people made me squirm a bit. Whenever my favorite hero on tv was a cyborg, or kaizonigen, or anything like that they never had to put up with therapy. Then I had an idea. "Kamen? Mask?"

"Mask?" She was quiet. "I understand. I'll get it done by morning." She got up and left without another word. Then I realized I forgot to ask for another glass of water. I was still thirsty.

Faces turning away in disgust and hatred. One in particullar.

My face was pressed up against something hard. I opened my eyes and looked down at what it was. It was these hands. Sometime in the night I wedged them under my face, like how I usually sleep. I jerked them down to my side, so I wouldn't have to look at them. I'd been avoiging looking at the rest of me as well. Currently,I didn't even know what my toes look like.

Instead I just sat up. It took a little effort, but I got there. Jerking my hand to the side, I grabbed the chapstick. It felt like I was playing one of those claw machines at the arcade. So, I guess I could conisder my life a video game. Hanzo wouldn't be pleased about that. Hanzo. I hadn't really thought about him since that night. Correction, I didn't want to think about him. Already, just the name was stiring up hatred in my soul.

Luckilly, before I continue on that line of thought, Dr. Zeigler came in through the door. "Good morning! Were you able to sleep well?"

"Yees." It was just the waking up that was a bit disorienting.

"Great! I'm just doing a check in for now. I have other rounds to make, but I'll be back in time to take you to your therapy. Is there anything you need?"

"Waater."

She nodded quickly and strode over to the sink and little paper cups. She filled one up before turning to me, "I'll have nurses make sure you have some."

When she saw my reaction she gasped, "Oh, and here's this." She set a metal mask that was in her pocket on the table. "It comes in a few pieces. The cranium casing, the helm and the visor. Go ahead and put it on. I need to go over some of the functionality with you anyway."

I turned the pieces over in these hands. This is the new Genji. The hands, the mask, the juxtaposition made me shiver a little. The three parts came undone easilly. The case around my head fit snuggly over my head like a helmet. The helm kinda reminded me of my old headband. I wondered if these guys had any old pictures of me in my training gear. It fit on over top in a familiar fashion that was actually welcomed. And the visor. The 'face' of the ensamble. It clicked simply in place and the helm slid over it to secure the whole thing. The little steam that shot out the sides startled me a bit. Was it airtight?

"It was actually a good thing that you recomended this. We were wondering how to get you used to your internal interface."

Interface? Like a HUD? I tilted my head in confusion.

"Oh, to help ensure that everything is working correctly, the software installed includes diagnostics checks and other usefull applications."

Apps? Oh yeah. I was the latest piece of smart tech. Did I have wifi? Now was actually a great time to update my status: Going through rehab after being almost MURDERED by my own brother.

Dr. Zeigler pulled her stool closer. "The interface is based off of omnic software. All you have to give is the intent, and it'll boot itself up. So for now, try thinking of running a diagnostics check."

Diagnostics? That ment troubleshooting and stuff right? Ugh. Did they really have to use computer terminology? I closed my eyes in loathing as I gingerly thought to myself. Run Diagnostics...Run Diagnostics... Run... How was I supposed to know this was working? I needed to see if this software was working right. Oh, there it went. Code. I shuddered. It felt like my own thoughts, but from some analytical, computing, mechanical part of my brain. It was displayed on the visor as well. Recent updates were installed correctly. Recent damage was mended correctly. Nutrition at 99 percent. Energy at 100 percent, disengage charging cord. Oil at 99 percent. It went over other pieces of data. This body was practically yelling at me what it was. Xanax introduced to Internal Systems. So that's what she was putting into me.

I turned to Dr. Zeigler. "Diaagnosstics commplete. Aall systemss withhin tolerannces." I stated it simply and defeated.

She quietly scribbled on her pad. "You can review your software as well as a manual of sorts too. It's all in there. You can also message me in the system. Now, I have to go. But if you need anything, just ping me."

She quietly left the room. Leaning back into the bed, I looked at the HUD. There seemed to be a small cursor that was tracking where I was looking. I hovered my gaze over a small red x on the window that housed the diagnostics data. How would I click? I just wanted the data stop. And on th thought, it did. Somehow it felt quiter after the information stopped streaming into my head. I took a deep breath. There was already a nagging feeling that free time was going to be an issue. What I needed was something to do, so my thoughts wouldn't swallow me whole. Was there anything to read around here? Aren't hospitals supposed to be full of outdated magazines? There was a brief thought towards that manual the the doctor mentioned. And like that it popped up.

This body became hyper aware of itself, outlining itself in my mind and in a 3D reprentation on the screen. I nearly gagged. There was a rough shake in my head as I quickly closed the window. I looked to my side. The water and chapstick were resting there. I licked my lips. My hands roamed across my mask, trying to get it off. It clicked in here, right? But how do I undo it? Sighing, I dropped my hands. If I wanted that water, there was only one thing I could do. With a shudder, the manual came up on screen and in my mind. There was a moment where I had to just calm down. When I could finally feel the information without completely rejecting it, I sent out a mental inquiry. How do I get my visor off? Then my body tensed up. The screen showed a step by step process. This body wanted to perform the task it was told to do, like a machine recieving input. Slowly, I went through, or did I just allow it to do it by itself, the motions.

As soon as the visor was off I rejected the program and I could feel it close out. My breathing hitched up as if I had run a marathon. I managed to get my breathing under controll after a while. Those ninja brathing techniques did come in handy sometimes. I didn't want to become reliant on it though. With the visor resting on the bed, I grabbed the paper cut. It squished somewhat, even though I was trying to be gentle. I put the cup to my lips and poured some into my mouth. It was difficult to push it down, my new gag reflex not cooperating. Most of it ended up on my new chest, the cold water a foreign feeling. A few more tries and eventually, I managed to get a few sips down. I could feel it trickle down into some sort of tank.

Sighing, I put the cup down on the small table. When was this therapy supposed to be? Should I ask Dr. Zeigler? A message window popped up in my head. I fumbled for my visor. After a while I was able to click it into place. The window was on the screen when the mask clicked into my hardware. I sat there a while as I tried to figgure out how to use the interface. Eventually, it came down to me doing all of the input mentally, like I was just talking to myself. Though, I realized it was in Japanese. I needed it to be in English. And it auto translated. For some reason all of the 'convieneces' they loaded into my body was just making me feel less human. I shoved the thought out of my mind as I sent the message. A few minutes later and I got a reply. She was happy that I was trying to get used to my system. The appointment was at 2. What time was it now? Oh, and now an internal clock. 1:36. Local time. Local? Where was I anyway? GPS came up. Overwatch base in Switzerland.

My vision went a little fuzzy. Huh? The room was getting kinda warm. I turned to the small cup. Out of water, too. The sink was just over there, though. Jerkilly, I moved my legs over the side of the bed. Though, I didn't want to look at them. So instead I kept my head straight. Gently, I pushed off the bed. And fell on the floor like a child's toy. I jerked up, and down, left and right. A panic took me. This just made me twitch more. An error flashed across my mind. Heat issue? Too many applications running at once along with mental and physical stressors. I hitched up my breathing. I felt like I was roasting in a metal oven. My face was sweating inside my mask. My arms and legs felt heavier. Systems shutting down? No, no, come on, work!

A bang echoed in the room. "Genji!" It was Dr. Zeigler and some other nurses. They lifted me up on to the bed, with the amount of effort they gave, apparently I was as heavy as I felt. Once propped up on the bed, Dr. Zeigler gave me more of that medicine as the other nurses pushed a cart into the room. They unloaded some ice and plopped it down on top of me, around my arms, and between my legs. Systems cooling.

"Genji, can you hear me? Say something." She reached for my visor, but I shakilly grabbed her arm. We stared each other down. The doctor motioned for the other nurses to leave the room. "How are your systems? I got an emergency page that you were overheating."

I let go of her arm. My diagnostics program had automatically started up. "At 70 percent functionality, internal systmes cooling, minor overhating damage, nanite healing system engaged."

Relief swept over her. "What happened?"

"I think I had too many apps up? I just had these questions in my head and this... this system kept giving me anwsers. I tried to get some water, but I ended up on the floor." My voice was going quiet. "And I- I just started to panic. I couldn't move."

She looked at the small cup that was still sitting on the table. "I'm sorry. If you had any questions I should have anwsered them."

There was silence beween us. She pulled out a small pager and looked it over. She flicked it and nodded, seemingly pleased.

"I'll reschedual your appointment for tomorrow." Dr. Zeigler was getting up and grabbing the ice bags. They were mostly melted. Then she placed a couple bottles of water from the cart on the table. "Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?"

"Something to read?"

She smilled and nodded before leaving with the cart. That whole little adventure to the floor wore me out. I still had those aplications running. Quickly turning them off, I relaxed into the bed.

Hot breath from a snarling face.

Familliar ceiling tiles. They were as familiar as this bed. I was getting really annoyed with both of them. Sitting up, I saw that the water bottles were still there. One of them was empty. Probably drank it between sleepless fits. Since I got here, I really hadn't gotten a good night's sleep. It's always nightmares that I never remeber, except for a flash here and there. Trying not to think of them, or the fear they illicited, I grabbed another water and drank some. I was getting better at it. There was still some that ended up spilling on my metal plating.

Placing the half empty bottle on the table, I picked up my mask that was sittling next to the other waters as well as a book. After slipping the mask on, I turned the book over in my hands. It was a copy of The Tale of Genji, in Japanese. I laughed a bit. Either she thought it was funny or it was the only thing she was able to find in Japanese. I flipped through it a bit. Hanzo read a lot of classical literature, so naturally I refused to read it to spite him.

Before I could bet through the first paragraph, Dr. Zeigler came through the door. "Oh, you're awake already. Have you done a diagnostics check for this morning?"

The reminder of the program sent a shiver down my spine. I gave a curt shake of the head. Doing that again was the last thing I wanted to do.

"You're gonna have to do them every morning. Now, your appointment is at 2:00, any other appointments will be at the same time. I'll tell you if there's any reschedualing. And I am serious about the diagnostics checks. Once every morning."

She kept looking at me, waiting. Dr. Seigler probably wasn't going to leave unless I did that check. With a shudder and a deep gulp I pulled it up quickly. "Diagnostics complete, all systems within tolerances, overheating damage repaired."

A chill ran down my spine as I closed it out. Repaired. That was a word I was already starting to hate. Dr. Zeigler just wrote something in her notes. Then she turned and left the room without another word. I sneered off to the side as I grabbed the book again.

The story wasn't bad. Kind of interesting actually. After a while Dr. Zeigler came back. I checked the time real quick. 1:45 on the dot. She was pushing a wheelchair. A wheelchair. There was no way I was going to be pushed around like an invalid.

"Alright, I'll help you get in the chair." She stated as she pushed it towards the bed.

"I can walk," I rebuffed. Maybe I could limp. Yesterday caught me off guard.

"Genji, you're not used to your legs. That's why you're going to physical therapy. Now come here."

I moved away from her reach. "Really, I bet I could."

"No, you can't and what happens when you can't? You end up on the floor and I can't pick you up off the floor alone. You aren't exactly lightweight."

A scowl spread on my face. Not that she could see. I hated when other people were right. Especially when it made me look stupid. So I just scooted closer to her and tried to get in the stupid wheelchair. Then we were on our way down the hallway. I didn't look at the rooms or poeple we passed, but I could feel their stares. All I had to look at where my knees and legs. It felt weird when I flexed them every once in a while and saw the fiberous synthetic muscle move around beneath my fake skin. Then we got there.

It was a large room with several pieces of workout equipment. wrote something down on a clipboard hung to the wall. Then she told me to wait there. As if I could really move. Although, if I got my arms steady, I might be able to push the wheels by myself. Before I could try, she came back around the corner with a man in what could only be described as a Overwatch Tracksuit. He introduced himself as my therapist untill I could get back on my feet. He didn't really look at me, and when he tried to smile it looked more like a grimace.

"I'll do my best, Mercy, but he's a machine."

I jolted a bit. A machine? "I am not a machine!"

He looked down at me, a small flick of fear. "I thought you said he didn't understand German."

"I did not. I said he knew English and Japanese."

Tensing, I realized I had my translation software translate what they said automatically. Did I yell in english of German? Another shiver.

It went like that for several days. In a week, I could shakilly walk without issue. Another week after that, I was running. A few after that and I was climbing again. One week after that, Dr. Zeigler gave me a medical all clear to release me. I got issued a Overwatch uniform, a room and started to go on missions. That was where we found out what worked, and what didn't with my body. Dr. Zeigler even found a way for my body to cool itself off. I was a tool, more than anything. Doing my job was what kept me afloat. Occasional maintanance and repairs were hell, that required a day to recover. I told Dr. Zeigler it was to get used to any upgrades she put in me. The worst one was when I got a shuriken dispenser in my arm. Eventuall, Overwatch disbanded.

Hanzo was looking at me. He mumbled something inaudible.

"Just come get some food, brother." I gave a bit of a smile to him.

He looked back down to the floor. "After all of that. After I caused you so much pain, why are you trying to look after me?"

I got up and stretched my synthetic muscles out a bit. Even they get stiff. "Like I said, I forgive you. I know it was the clan that made you do it. I interogated enough of them to understand that. Besides, even you have to admit that you can't fight hungry. At least this way you can find use for yourself. Master never had to put up with me at the beggining, but I'd think he'd say that seeing yourself as usefull even in someplace like this would be a good start."

Hanzo tried to protest again, but I just grabbed his shoulders. I looked him dead in the eye to give him no chance to argue the matter. Then I pulled him up from the bed and started to escort him out of the room, grabbing my visor on the way out.

There was silence down the darkened halways. Most of the other members had probably retreated to the common rooms till lights out.

"I thought I was supposed to watch over you. Not the other way around." Hanzo whispered it as we walked into the kitchen.

I gave a small digital chuckle. "Well, big brother, I am taller than you now." When I turned around to face him, he had a glare on his face. He always liked being taller than me. He teased me about it when we were boys. "Maybe I should be the big brother?"

His face seemed to tighten even more, if that was possible. "I'm mistaken. You haven't changed a bit."

Full laughter burst its way through my gut. "Neither have you, Broter! Here. Zenyatta made ramen for you. The broth is actually really good." 


End file.
